Adjust SNAP distance

[sanfong]

Hi. I noticed some of my friends didn't know the usage of "Macro/Up button" in SNAP mode. Most of them adopted from GRD IV's way of changing the SNAP distance. For me had used GRD III, I'm delighted that Ricoh has placed back the way of changing SNAP distance in GR.

GR (GRD III way) of changing SNAP distance:
In SNAP mode, roll the front dial while press and hold Macro/Up button to change focus distance

GR (GRD IV way) of changing SNAP distance:
In SNAP mode, for example, press Fn2 to bring up the focus distance list, press up/down to focus distance and then press OK to select it.

The GRD III way is more efficient and faster.

 

[fitzhenry]

Cool, I hadn't figured that out for the GR. Thanks a lot for posting! It is indeed efficient and fast. Previously I had set Fn1 to call up the snap focus option and Fn2 to choose a distance. So using up two function buttons just to change the snap distance. I had already decided to just go with 2.5 as a permanent choice, so I had changed Fn2 to something else, figuring I could menu dive if I needed to change the focus distance. I'm sort of glad that I trained myself to simplify things with one main snap distance (I was only confusing myself trying to change on the fly, which in the end isn't really necessary all that often if you're at something like f8 since there is such a wide DOF). But this is way better - I can still change snap distance, no menu, one function button. Fn1 just toggles snap on and off, and I've disabled Full Press Snap, as was suggested elsewhere on the forum, because that was confusing me too.

 

[Blow-in]

With the GRD4 I use the function pair settings to pair together the functions I use most in the Fn1 & 2 settings. The pre-set function pairings are selected by holding down the '12 o'clock' button and using the front dial (the up-down dial). With Snap distance set as Fn1 you can adjust the distance by holding it down and rotating the front dial much the same as the GRD3 - there is no need to press OK.

Richard

 

[dpt2014]

Very cool tip! This is why I am a forum nerd. Always learning new tricks!

 

[riccadonna]

I second dpt 2014. Very cool tip for a Ricoh GRX owner too. I must admit that later on I checked a manual and lo and behold, on the side 69 there`s a remark about macro and front wheelie to change snap. Simply wonderful.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Re: Adjust SNAP distance - rant

With the GRD4 I use the function pair settings to pair together the functions I use most in the Fn1 & 2 settings. The pre-set function pairings are selected by holding down the '12 o'clock' button and using the front dial (the up-down dial). With Snap distance set as Fn1 you can adjust the distance by holding it down and rotating the front dial much the same as the GRD3 - there is no need to press OK.

Richard

Richard

I whole-heartedly support your note about function button pairing. The snap focus mob made such a song and dance over the replacement of their beloved quick-snap-distance-change that Ricoh killed the very useful function button pairing of the GRDIV on the GR. What did we get - the loss of a configurable set of four pairs = eight adjustable key configurations for three independently configurable buttons on the GR - one of which is "hidden away" around the side of the camera. I have wondered if they should have made it the instant snap distance change button and left the function button pairing.

Also, being frank and hopefully not rude, the principle of laziness took hold and it seemed that those who flayed the GRDIV for "losing" the quick snap focus distance change could not be bothered finding out that a couple of function button pairs could be combined to make the GRDIV a snap focus demon par excellence.

As usual Ricoh left the choice of what you put into your function button pairs entirely up to the user. As a result those using the camera right out of the box had absolutely no interest in the "hard work" of tuning the camera to their personal shooting preference. "Function button pairing" - Huh?

It is not as if changing the functon button pairs once set was ever hard - up click and scroll down through a list of the pairs you have set up - once set your custom pairing is remembered, pops up temporarily at switch on and can be also recalled and displayed by simply pressing the up arrow key for those like me with faulty memories.

The other thing that seems to have Ricoh baffled is that the "snap focus" is loudly proclaimed the only good point about the entire GRD/GR model type. In fact these cameras can actually be used quite usefully like normal auto-focus cameras and are not exclusively for street use and snap focusing everything.

I endorse that snap focus capability is a great tool but to see it as the only or "nearly exclusive" use for the cameras is an insult to what the much broader usefulness these cameras are capable of. Consider that the GR is a particularly schmick AF camera and Ricoh do provide a good set of very useful fnctions in this regard. In fact I see the pinpoint focus capability a good substitute for the camera's hopeless (imho) manual focus capability somewhat masked by its rather good snap focus attributes.

Ricoh dropped the extremely useful (to everyone) but hardly understood function button pairing due to noisy feedback from a relatively small proportion of GRD users to whom snap focus was the only good quality of the GRD. Who seemed too interested in the camera "simplicity" than to delve deeper and figure out that the function button pairing actually added the possibility of not only accessing snap focus changes just as quickly but could also add a second dedicated "snap focus" helper key (Fn2) to give instant customised snap focus distance as a bonus.

In fact Fn 1 could be set as the instant snap focus key as pair one of all four pairs giving universal access to snap focus distance change and four different instantly changeable custom Fn2 settings. For those only interested in snap focus and nothing else then the Fn1 and Fn2 settings could be set for snap focus assist and only one Function button pair need ever be set up.

Vale! function button pairing, we need will need an equally noisy crew to bring it back.

"So what is function button pairing?" I rest my case.

Tom

 

[Tony-N]

There should be a sticky that collects all the customization tips in one thread, great for us that owns a Ricoh for the first time.